It was unlawful and unconstitutional to not reveal national keypoints, the High Court in Johannesburg ruled on Wednesday.
The Right2Know Campaign (R2K) and the South African History Archive (SAHA) wanted the police to reveal the national key points under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
National keypoints were protected from being photographed or identified as key points, and are understood to include military installations and services or factories which are considered strategic.
In 2012, a request made to the police for a list of key points was refused.
In a courtroom packed with members of the R2K group, Judge Roland Sutherland also ruled that the police should foot the legal bill for R2K and SAHA.
The police ministry had 30 days to release the names of the about 200 national keypoints.